Religion in Ohio schools would be a diabolical idea

Philip Derrow of New Albany is a retired business owner. He served two terms on the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education. He is a frequent Columbus Dispatch contributor. Reach him at [email protected].

According to the old story, Santa Claus comes to town in December.

Based on recent headlines alone, jolly old St. Nick may have company from a far more sinister red-clad figure when the Satanic Temple visits with children from the Marysville Exempted Village School District.

Fear not, for not everything is as it seems.

Yes, Satanic Temple leaders have indeed announced their intention to use Ohio’s optional religious exemption program for public schools to offer its programs to Marysville students.

Fortunately, at least from a secular perspective, the only thing truly satanic about the Satanic Temple is its name. Instead, the organization is a souped-up parody of traditional religions with tenets that seem more progressive-libertarian than evil.

Why is the Satanic Temple in Central Ohio?

All of this is interesting enough, but the real story here isn’t about the battle between good and evil.

It’s about the role of public schools.

This is particularly relevant as Ohio lawmakers debate House Bill 445, which would require public schools to allow students to exempt certain school hours for off-campus religious education, rather than leaving it optional as is currently the case.

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Such exemption activities are conducted at no cost to school districts, and Ohio law allows any local school board to permit them if they so choose.

The Satanic Temple’s push into central Ohio is probably best viewed as a response to the growth of LifeWise Academy, a Christian Bible study youth organization based in Hilliard. It is also a test of our state legislature’s commitment to protecting religious freedom in the Constitution.

According to their website, LifeWise launched in 2018 and by 2019 was offering programs to students at just two schools. By the end of last school year, they served “more than 30,000 students from 331 schools in 13 states.”

Why is LifeWise in Schools?

LifeWise clearly fills a need.

Just as the Satanic Temple appears to be a response to LifeWise, LifeWise is best viewed as a response to the quasi-religious political progressivism promoted in far too many of our public schools.

This was evident in the furor over Olentangy High School’s principal using an official staff letter to complain about Donald Trump’s election victory.

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Progressivism’s influence on public education is also evident in school programs around diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as in “social justice” movements that teach students to see the world through the lens of progressive concerns that relate to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender, etc.

LifeWise’s popularity exploded during the COVID-19 crisis due to two key factors, both related to school closures.

As schools shifted to a form of online instruction that had students sitting at home in front of computers, parents saw—many for the first time—what their children were actually being taught about these progressive causes.

Equally important, extended school closures and “virtual” schooling reversed decades of progress in promoting the importance of school attendance and the resulting reduction in truancy.

Secular progressivism in the classroom

This combination of open political partisanship in public schools and the dilution of cultural expectations of school attendance has brought us to where we are today.

The Worthington School Board recently discussed the possibility of repealing its religious dismissal policy.

During the public meeting, board President Nikki Hudson said it was “kind of insulting” to residents to choose LifeWise’s character-building programs over her school’s version of such programs.

The insult is not about the quality of character programming at Worthington or any public school. It’s about public school officials adopting academically irrelevant and inherently biased programs, thereby forcing parents to either accept private schools or pay the costs.

The parents who choose to withdraw their children from school because of LifeWise or another religious option are not wrong, nor are they racist, sexist, or any of the other insults of intolerance hurled at them.

They somewhat solve a problem created by public school leaders.

The answer is not to further divide schoolchildren by adding religion to the already long list of mandatory and divisive characteristics. Rather, it is about refocusing public education on its essential task of providing students with basic knowledge, promoting a sense of responsibility and civility during school years and leaving the rest to parents.

The same goes for Ohio lawmakers. Our public schools would be better served by legislation that mandates politically neutral programming rather than mandating religious exemptions.

Religion in public schools risks making a deal with the devil, whether that religion is divinely inspired, the Satanic Temple, or secular progressivism.

Religion in Ohio schools would be a diabolical idea

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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